When I spoke to him Friday night he wasn't drunk or on drugs and had just made his bed for the night in a doorway. He was going to read his book until he fell asleep.

He hoped that nobody would kick him during the night as it appears to be a problem that many of our homeless people have - being kicked while asleep by drunken fools who find it amusing when they leave the night clubs and pubs.

Eddie is in his early 40's, lived in the UK for many years and came home to Ireland about 5 years ago.

He's a qualified engineer whose only previous crime was to listen to the advice of banks and financial experts.

He has been living like this for over 2 years now and is totally reliant on the generosity of the wonderful homelessness charities like 'You're Not Alone'.

Eddie now has a few more convictions to his name, because he has been caught stealing food during the day to keep hunger away.

​I asked him for permission to take this photo and told him we'd blank out his face to hide his identity. He gave me permission for the photo but asked that his face not be hidden.

He said, "If it helps to do something about the problem then I don't mind my face being shown". Before leaving Eddie to his fate, I got him another cup of tea, a bottle of water, 3 sandwiches and a bun for his breakfast... I know that I was letting Eddie and all of the other homeless people down when I left them to their fate...​I'm ashamed of what our country has become and I know that at least 150 TD's need to pay the price for ignoring this desperate humanitarian crisis while purposely lying through their teeth and deceiving all of us with their bullshit about a recovery... This crisis is getting worse - and they know it!"

......................................................

Ken Smollen is chairperson at Irish Democratic Party.

Looking at Ken's Facebook page it is easy to see he is a man who is actively campaigning to help others.

Look at his post Monday December 12

"Thanks once again to the people of Offaly and surrounding counties who very generously donated to our last appeal for the homeless...It looks like we'll have another excellent response for our FOOD trip to Dublin on Friday next 16th December as many people have already donated and many others have been enquiring about what's needed...

All kinds of non-perishable food such as tins of beans, peas, fruit, pasta, tinned tomatoes, packets of soup, rice, etc… Sweets, buns and bars of chocolate would also be gratefully received… Also much needed are toiletries such as toothpaste, brushes, face wipes, women’s sanitary products, etc…

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